Canada's online magazine: Politics, entertainment, technology, media, arts, books: backofthebook.ca

Politics, tech, media, culture and more, from a Canadian point-of-view

  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Science and Tech
  • Living
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
You are here: Home / Politics / 9/11’s happy ending

9/11’s happy ending

05/02/2011 by backofthebook.ca

americans-celebrate-bin-laden-deathBy Frank Moher

The Americans who gathered outside the White House and at Ground Zero last night, waving their inevitable flags to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden, were touching in their desire to see an end to the nightmare that has been made of their lives and their country in these last nine-and-a-half years. Not so Stephen Harper in his statement on the subject, which was as cynical as one would expect.

He was right, of course, when he said that “Bin Laden’s death does not end the threat of international terrorism.” International terrorism existed long before Bin Laden made the scene, as anyone who remembers the Baader-Meinhof Group or the Japanese Red Army or the Munich Massacre can attest. For that matter, much American foreign policy of the last century-or-so could be described as international terrorism, though those partyers last night would not like to think so.

Then Harper added, “this does remind us why Canadian Armed Forces personnel have been deployed to Afghanistan: to deny Al Qaeda, and organizations like it, the use of Afghanistan, where the 9/11 attack was conceived and planned.”

But — also of course — Bin Laden denied responsibility for the attacks. And even if you suppose he was lying, the fact is the Taliban offered to cooperate in prosecuting Bin Laden provided the U.S. presented some evidence of his involvement. The U.S. didn’t feel like it, and invaded instead. Puppy-dog-like, Canada tagged along.

Oh well. If Bin Laden’s purported killing yesterday (we won’t be seeing the body, so I suspect we’ll have to take the US’s word for that, too) puts an end to our adventurism in Afghanistan, and to the winnowing of civil liberties that Americans have been subjected to since 2001, I’ll celebrate too. There are still a lot of bad guys out there — like the ones who knew 9/11 was coming and did nothing about it (except to try to profit from it on the stock market). They have yet to be brought to justice. And then there’s the vexing question of Building 7.

But for a pair of wars that have been largely showbiz from the start, this “happy ending” is perfect. Or at least it is for those touchingly credulous people on the streets last night.

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, Stephen Harper, Taliban, U.S.

Subscribe to BoB by e-mail or RSS

Comments

  1. Fyoder Larue says

    05/02/2011 at 10:22 am

    Bin Laden alive! Seen in a Pakistan supermarket with Elvis!

    They dumped the body in the sea.

    http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/140304/20110502/osama-bin-laden-buried-at-sea-was-it-proper-no-say-muslim-scholars.htm

    Photos of the body will no doubt be released through channels official or unofficial, but what do photos mean since Photoshop? Hurriedly getting rid of the corpse provides great fodder to conspiracy theorists and any who don’t want to believe he is dead. Prove it. Show us the body. “Uh, can’t, fishes ate it.”

    In the old days they put the executed’s head on a spike. “Prove William Wallace is dead!” “His head’s over there.” “Ok, fair enough.” Barbarous, but effective.

Google+
  • Living
  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
Fire sale sign

Fort McMurray: Shopping time!

By Brady Tighe We’re now officially in the aftermath phase of the northern Alberta wildfire crisis. The fire is long gone, and everyone with a home to return to is back in its … [Read More...]

Nathan Cullen

Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking

By Alison@Creekside The most interesting and innovative idea to come out of the first meeting of the all-party Special Committee on Electoral Reform, or ERRE, was Nathan Cullen's suggestion, … [Read More...]

Trudeau on quantum computing

The Trudeau gush fest is getting old

By Jim Henshaw There have been several bewildered as well as angry accounts coming out of the USA lately about how little media time has been spent covering the Democratic Presidential Primary … [Read More...]

Rick Meyers in Nanaimo Pride Parade

My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade

By Frank Moher On this dreadful day, I don't want to write about the shootings in Orlando. I want to write about my friend, Rick. Rick lives just outside of Nanaimo, a city of about 80,000, … [Read More...]

Stephen Colbert on Late Night set

Triumph of the drama nerds

By Frank Moher Two drama nerds have recently moved into high profile positions. Before I name them (or perhaps you’ve already guessed who they are; or perhaps you’d like to scroll down and look at … [Read More...]

From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon

Originally published on Our Rape Blog, the author's account of the aftermath of a violent sexual assault. By Mary Fraughton Have you ever played Hearts? It’s a card game. For our purposes, … [Read More...]

First Nations defending Lelu Island

The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

From Creekside: The B.C. provincial government is trying to green light the construction of a massive LNG terminal on Lelu Island in the Skeena Estuary -- Pacific Northwest LNG, backed by Malaysian … [Read More...]

Google

Follow Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

RSS CBC News



Recent Posts

  • Fort McMurray: Shopping time!
  • From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon
  • Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking
  • The fish hotel
  • Hatred on an Alberta golf course
  • The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”
  • My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade
  • Our selective sympathy
  • The Water Bomber, The Frogman and The Great Canadian Novelist
  • Komagata Maru: The story behind the apology

Tags

9/11 Afghanistan Alberta bad behaviour books British Columbia business Canada Canadian military Canadian politics CBC celebrity computers Conservatives crime environment family film G20 Globe and Mail internet Jason Kenney journalism Justin Trudeau law Liberals Maclean's music National Post NDP newspapers oil sands online media Ontario Quebec RCMP religion sports Stephen Harper television theatre Toronto U.S. Vancouver women

Archives

The Video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

Pages

  • About
  • Privacy

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in